Sporting the yellow and black colors of Cheerios on Richard Childress Racing’s No. 3 Chevrolet for the first time this season, sophomore NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competitor Austin Dillon raced as high as 13th in the Martinsville 500 before developing a mechanical issue and finishing 41st. Dillon started the 500-lap race from the 22nd position and raced inside the top 20 for the first 100 laps before developing a loose-handling condition and dropping to 31st in the running order. As Dillon struggled with a lack of forward drive, he fell one lap down to the race leader, but found relief to the handling issues following a pit stop on lap 166 for four tires, fuel and a wedge adjustment. Restarting 30th on lap 170, Dillon spent the next 50 circuits battling for the “Lucky Dog” position and earned his lap back when the caution flag was displayed on lap 218. Once back on the lead lap, Dillon quickly raced his way into the top 15 driving up to 13th in the running order. As the laps progressed, Dillon started to report a loose-handling condition and the No. 3 Chevrolet began smoking shortly after lap 300.
The team made an unscheduled, green-flag pit stop on lap 331 to evaluate the issue, ultimately retiring Dillon and the Cheerios Chevrolet to the garage area 200 laps before the advertised finish. Dillon and team were forced to take a 41st-place finish.